Overview
- Ballistic analyses indicate MJ5 was shot with a rifle from a distance, reportedly from a protected shooting position.
- Cell-tower data placed the 48-year-old hunter’s phone in the Val di Non area where the bear was killed in October 2023.
- The Trento prosecutor has requested dismissal of the investigation, and Oipa, Enpa, Lav and Lndc have filed formal opposition.
- In a related case, two hunters have been sent to trial over the alleged illegal shooting of the bear F36 in September 2023.
- Since April 2023, reports cite more than a dozen suspicious bear deaths with at least four confirmed poaching cases, alongside a 2024 provincial law permitting up to eight removals annually with quotas slated for review in 2026 after new monitoring.